The Janus Face of Ideal Self-Congruence : Benefits for the Brand versus Emotional Distress for the Consumer

Malär, Lucia Andrea; Herzog, Daniela; Krohmer, Harley; Hoyer, Wayne David; Kähr, Andrea (2018). The Janus Face of Ideal Self-Congruence : Benefits for the Brand versus Emotional Distress for the Consumer. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 3(2), pp. 163-174. University of Chicago Press 10.1086/697080

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Branding strategies that target the consumer’s ideal self may not always be effective, as they elicit both positive and negative consumer reactions and emotions. In a series of studies, we demonstrate that congruence between the brand’s personality and the consumer’s ideal self improves the consumer’s attitude toward the brand through anticipated self-enhancement but also increases his or her negative self-conscious emotions through envy. These consumer reactions depend on the type of ideals represented by the brand (agentic vs. communal ideals) and on consumers’ self-discrepancy. Our research emphasizes the importance of examining both the risks and the rewards of branding strategies that target consumers’ ideal self-congruence and highlights the need to take a contingency perspective when doing so.

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